Phonograph needle



Oct. 14 1924.

N. 5. CLAY PHONOGRAPH NEEDLE Filed Nov. 11. 1919 INVENTOR Nob/9 5. 6/0. BY

WITNESSES:

AT1 'ORNEY quently Patented Oct. 14, 1924.

PATENT OFFICE.

NOBLE S. CLAY, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNO'R TO WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC & MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PHONOGRAPH NEEDLE.

Application filed November 11, 1919. Serial No. 337,168.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NOBLE S. CLAY, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Phonograph Needles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to phonograph needles and it has, for its primary object, the provision of needles of the above men-- tioned character which shall be exceptionally durable and which shall ensure a satisfactory reproduction of recorded tones when employed in machines for this purpose.

Various kinds of phonograph needles have been employed, some of which have" been formed of wood fiber and other similar materials. However, to the best of my knowledge, no onehas conceived the idea, heretofore, of employing fibrous materials, associated with a binder adapted to harden under the application of heat and pressure, to construct phonograph needles. Fiber needles were primarily designed to obtain asofter tone than was possible with metallic needles. Although the fiber needles possess certain advantages over the'metalli-c needles,

they are subject to criticism on account of the fact that they possess very little mechanical strength and, if not carefully handled, are easily damaged. Metallic needles possess a certain degree of mechanical strength, but the points thereof frebecome bent and the needles are, therefore, useless.

One object of my invention is the production of phonograph needles which shall be relatively strong mechanically and which shall ensure the reproduction of fine variations of tone.

Another object of my invention is to construct phonograph needles which. are exceptionally economical on account of the fact.

' that they are initially inexpensive and are exceptionally long-lived.

A still further object of my invention is the production of phonograph needles which shall possess relatively great mechanical strength but which shall be of such character as to obviate any danger of abrasion or enlargement of impressions in the records 'upon which they are run.

With these and other objects in view, my invention will be more fully described,

illustrated in the drawings, in the several views of which corresponding numerals indicate like parts, and then particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of a plate of material which may be utilized in constructing phonograph needles embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of a strip of material cut from the plate shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end view of the plate shown in Fig. 1, illustrating the manner in which the plate may be cut to form strips, such as shown in Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are views of a phonograph needle constructed in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

In practising my invention, I may construct phonograph needles by employing a suitable fibrous sheet material, several layers of which may be impregnated with a suitable binder and stacked to form a plate of the desired thickness. The stacked material may then be subjected to heat and pressure, in a suitable press or'mold, to compact the material and to harden the binder. The plate thus formed may then be cut into strips, preferably of triangular shape, which may be, in turn, out into relatively short pieces which may be suitably pointed or tapered to form the needles.

In Fig. 1 is shown a plate 1 comprising a suitable fibrous sheet material, such as paper,

til)

sions which are governed, to a great extent,

by the size of the presses or molds at hand. A plurality of layers of the impregnated sheet material may be stacked to form the plate 1, after which the stacked material may be subjected to heat and pressure, in a suitable press or mold, to compact it and to harden the binder. The plate 1, thus formed, may be cut into strips 2, from which needles 3 may be cut. The lines 4, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, indicate the manner in which the plate 1 may be cut into the strips 2. As indicated by the lines 4, the plate 1 is cut into the strips 2, which are trian ai 1n cross-section, as shown in Fig. 6. e strips 2 may then be cut into relatively short pieces to provide the needles 3, each of which is preferably formed with a. tapered int The full lines 6, shown in Fig. 2, indicate the manner in which the strips 2 ma be out to form the needles 3.-

he needles 3 may be made of any desired length but are preferably of such length that portions may be cut therefrom to provide new points 5 when the original points have become dulled or unsuitable for further work. It will be apparent that the strips 2 may be directly molded or pressed without being first formed in the shape of a plate. However, ll prefer to first form a plate ofthe material because this is'more economical, and provides a verysatisfactory product. In case the strips 2 are molded, fibers or a loose fibrous material may be em loyed.

e needle, provided, as above described, is exceptionally durable and may be used a large number of times before the point thereof becomes dulled or unsuitable for satisfactory Work. By making the needles of suitable length, thepoints may be renewed by cutting away portions of the material so that they may be employed an exceptionally large number of times. Moreover, if records formed of a phenolic condensation product are employed, the above described needles function to assist the reproduction of the recorded tones in such manner that a clear unmarred production is always assured. However, as records are formed of some material which is more brittle in character than the needles l have described, the'danger of the record becoming marred, by reason of the needle enlarging the impressions thereon, is entirely obviated because the needle will always wear away before the material of the record will be aiiected. Another distinct advantage of the needles provided by my invention is the fact that they are unafiected by wide temperature changes, moisture, oils, weak acids and alkalis, and, since they are mechanically strong, they need not be so carefullyhandled to preserve a smooth and satisfactory surface thereon.

Although l have shown and specifically described phonograph needles which may be constructed by my invention, it is obvious that slight changes may be made in their construction without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention, and I desire, therefore, that no limitations shall be imposed except such as are indicated in the appended claims.

ll claim as my invention l. A phonograph needle comprising layers of fibrous material impregnated with a hardened binder.

2. A. phonograph needle comprising layers of fibrous material impregnated with a hardened phenolic condensation product.

3. A phonograph needle comprising superimposed layers of fibrous sheet material impregnated with a hardened binder.

a. A phonograph needle comp-rising superimposed layers of fibrous sheet material impregnated with a hardened phenolic condensation product.

5. A phonograph needle comprising superimposed layers of paper impregnated with a hardened binder.

6. A phonograph needle comprising superimposed layers of paper impregnated with a hardened phenolic condensation product.-

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this th day of Oct, 1919.

NOBLE S. CLAY. 

